“The last thing a paying airline passenger should expect is a physical altercation with law enforcement personnel after boarding, especially one
that could likely have been avoided,” the four top leaders of the Senate commerce committee said in a letter on Tuesday to Mr. Munoz.
There are “countless metrics you could look at to justify the cost of a higher compensation offer for those passengers on
that plane,” said Mr. Robinson-Leon, pointing to the price of crisis management, the loss in stock value, the potential for lost business and even the time of Mr. Munoz, who makes at least $1.2 million a year.
The Department of Transportation requires airlines to give involuntarily bumped passengers “a written statement describing their rights
and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn’t,” according to its consumer guide.
United Airlines on Tuesday faced a spiraling crisis from videos showing a passenger being dragged off an
airplane, as consumers threatened a boycott of the airline and lawmakers called for an investigation.
United’s website says that when the airline cannot find volunteers, it will “deny boarding to passengers in
accordance with our written policy on boarding priority.” Ms. McCarthy would not share the written policy.
“It’s fair to say that if PR Week was choosing its Communicator of the Year now, we
would not be awarding it to Oscar Munoz,” the trade publication said on Tuesday.
United, on Tuesday, appeared to backtrack from prior statements
that the flight with Dr. Dao aboard — heading from O’Hare in Chicago to Louisville, Ky. — was overbooked.